Rather than turning the other cheek, as Jesus commanded (Matthew 5:39; Luke 6:29), RWW notes that Dobson took to his June newsletter to express his disapproval, railing once more that President Obama is the “anti-religious freedom president” as well as a bevy of other oft-repeated lies.

He wrote,

You may have read one of the hundreds of blogs and articles that were critical of Shirley and me following the recent National Day of Prayer event in Washington, D.C. Most of the criticism was aimed at me, which I’ll address in a moment. Almost all of the angry editorials were written by liberal activists who were apparently looking for an excuse to damage the prayer event in the nation’s capital. They are hostile to any public display of religious fervor. The writers of these blogs despise conservative Christians, especially those of us who stand firm for what we believe.

Actually, it is Jesus who is hostile to any public display of religious fervor, saying at Matthew 6:1, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your father in heaven.”

Ooops. Are we to imagine Jesus was just kidding? Or did Dobson throw away his reward in heaven?

Dobson claims,

[God] promises to hear our cries from heaven, forgive our sin and heal our land. (2 Chron. 7:14.) Where, other than the National Day of Prayer, is it more appropriate to confess our guilt, and ask the Lord to forgive us? And what better place than the nation’s capital is there to call attention to the efforts of our leaders to strip away our Constitutional rights to worship according to our consciences, and to speak the truth in love? Inappropriate, indeed!

So Dobson could find 2 Chron. 7:14 in his Bible, but he could not be troubled to turn to the New Testament, where Jesus goes on to caution his followers,

And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward” (Matthew 6:5-6).

Their reward, obviously, is what they desired in the first place, the approval of others.

And yes, according to Jesus, the National Day of Prayer is more than a little inappropriate.

Jesus says instead, and this is clearly not a suggestion,

But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6:6).

As New Testament scholar Geza Vermes writes, this insistence on the “privacy of prayer…also has good biblical and Jewish antecedents” (Vermes, 2003). He points out that,

In short, a person inspired and motivated by deep trust does not need to spell out all his requirements, presenting as it were a shopping list to God, or to display his piety in public.

Dobson could not get the New Testament right. He did not do any better with the Old: Bearing false witness is a violation of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).

As it says in Proverbs 6:16-19:

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.

Yet James Dobson claims in his newsletter that President Obama is the first president to fund Planned Parenthood when in fact, as was pointed out by RWW, it has been federally funded since 1970. By my count, that’s eight presidents, including five Republicans.

Almost in the same breath, Dobson violated Jesus’ command on public displays of piety and his “Father in Heaven’s” commandment against lying.

Yet Dobson compounds his hypocrisy when he dares to pretend “his is without sin” as Jesus put it, before “casting the first stone” (John 8:7) at those he accused of doing wrong.

Dobson is the worst sort of hypocrite when he insists we obey rules he himself ignores whenever it suits him, and from his propensity to tell lies, we can only assume he serves not Jesus but Jesus’ enemy in the New Testament, the Father of Lies – the very Satan Dobson pretends is threatening our country.

But it isn’t Satan who is threatening our country. It is James Dobson and his fellow fake Christians.

Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen's Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.

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20 Responses to James Dobson Throws Jesus Under the Bus as He Attacks his Critics

Reynardine

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 7:43 am

Well, thank you, sir. I see I’m not the only one who noticed it.

Ben

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 8:12 am

Organized religion is nothing but sanctioned hypocrisy, and bigotry. This dasterdly combination leads to hatred.

labrat

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 8:19 am

There’s no difference between Dobson and Westboro Baptist as far as I’m concerned.

Huckleberry

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 9:07 am

If it turns out there is a hell they’re going to need an entire wing just to keep the faux christian hypocrites.

TNBlueDot

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 9:19 am

Typical ‘do as I say, not as I do’ attitude of evangelists. They’re in the game for money and power, period.

gsb

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 9:20 am

I like when then Bible is used to argue against their own positive declaration. Many times I have wondered why, this was not done. Glad to see this sort of argument is being used.

Shiva

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 9:20 am

Its all about the power. They are fake christians as they cannot keep their religious self to themselves. This is about running peoples lives through false witness and power over the suckers and those who do not believe

BTW, the Proverbs quote above would be perfect for everyone to send to their “christian” representatives

John Ways

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 9:45 am

“So Dobson could find 2 Chron. 7:14 in his Bible, but he could not be troubled to turn to the New Testament, where Jesus goes on to caution his followers”

That is the problem with the ultra-right wing Christians: Jesus is not included in their screed. They are, by and large, Old Testament theocrats, anxious to force the Ten Commandments and the Old Testament on America. Some even want to institute stoning for “crimes” such as being gay or, worst yet, an atheist. These people are not only delusional, but dangerous.

Elizabeth44

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 2:26 pm

Jeff Sharlet in his book, The Family, remarks that Jesus has become a “corporate icon” to these people.

Tim Robbins

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 9:49 am

James Dobson is such an arrogant man, not a Christ like trait and I wonder how much money he has made off The Precious Blood Of Jesus Christ.

leslie

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 10:40 am

Please help us and tell Governor (of Alabama) Bentley to expand Medicaid. Here’s his contact number 334-242-7100 or fax 334-353-0004.

dave

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 1:02 pm

ok 1st of all that verse is about praying in vain with alot words stop taking the bible out of context.2 the other verse would mean no more praying in churches when the bible tells us to pray for one another lol.3 the fact women back in jesus where not allowed in the temple. prayer is between you an god either aloud or in a room before you bash the bible read the whole thing not cut an paste verses GOD HAS THE FINAL WORD REMEMBER THAT WHEN YOU FACE HIM REMEMBER YOUR WORDS HERE ON EARTH

Hrafnkell Haraldsson

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 1:50 pm

Wow, Dave, a few issues to work out, eh? First of all, I was a Lutheran for 22 years. Secondly, I’ve probably read the Bible more often than most Christians. Thirdly, I don’t know where you get the idea that the verse in question is about praying in vain, since that is not at all what Jesus says, or indeed, is talking about.

Joseph P. Uhl

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 1:53 pm

When Dobson came out in support of his buddy Ted Haggard I wrote a ditty about it. To the tune the Beverly Hillbillies. Wanna’ tell ya’ a little story ’bout a man named Ted, the poor Bible thumper couldn’t keep his serpent fed. Then one day he had sex with a duuuude!, but the homosexual sex didn’t change his attitude. I’m a Christian!..I carry a Bible! I’ve been saved that is!..Well the next thing ya’ know ol’Ted’s on the air James Dobson said Teddy get away from there! The Left wing media is the cause of all the trouble! But were all safe here inside our little Christian bubble! Were Christians! We carry Bibles! We’ve been saved that is!!!

Shiva

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 2:03 pm

Excellent!

Joseph P. Uhl

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 2:54 pm

Thank you Shiva. Song parodies are another little hobby of mine.

Boscoe

Tue, Jun 3rd, 2014 at 2:47 pm

THANK YOU Hrafnkell! I believe this is the correct response when one of these “Christians” spreads their hate and deception; categorically point out the verses they are clearly violating.

These guys only get away with this garbage because the general public doesn’t know how clearly un-Christian they actually are. They prey on the average person’s inclination to fill in the blanks with their own opinion or whatever sounds good at the moment.

Education is a weapon these charlatans have no defense against.

I love seeing their feet held to their own fire.

Anya

Wed, Jun 4th, 2014 at 5:40 am

If you intend to throw in everybody’s face that tired crap about silent women; are you following all the rules in Leviticus? Well? No tattoos, no mixed fibers, no pork, no shellfish? No work on the sabbath? No praying in public spaces, are you, Pharisee boy?

kmom4kids

Wed, Jun 4th, 2014 at 10:58 am

Wow,I really enjoyed this article. I have been saying how all they delve in is the Old Testament that preaches punishment and fear. How little they use the New Testsment where Jesus speaks. Good news is not what they want others to her par. You get more sheep with fear when you say everyone else is condemned. They do not like that some are catching on to their false prophecy. He attacks like a serphant would. Now even Joel Osteen says he doesn’t preach the Prosperity Gospel. They live like Kings while scamming their flock.